The View From the Top

The past, present and future of Internet
economy, as seen by Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos

By

George Anders

Updated July 12, 1999 12:01 a.m. ET

He is a billionaire who wears rumpled chinos to work. He is a bibliophile surrounded by computers. To his admirers, he is the leading prophet of the age of electronic commerce. After all, he saw the immense business potential of the Internet five years ago, when most people yawned or snickered. To his detractors, however, he is a Pied Piper figure, spending huge amounts of money to expand a business that keeps posting record losses.

There's nothing simple or obvious about 35-year-old Jeff Bezos and the company that he...